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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23845933">Underneath</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoolsParadise/pseuds/FoolsParadise'>FoolsParadise</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Beauty and the Beast (1991), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Gaston survived the fall, Healer, Mature Content Later, Slow Build, getting to know each other slowly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:21:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,819</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23845933</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoolsParadise/pseuds/FoolsParadise</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the castle went back to its original state you started work as a maid and occasional healer for Belle and the Prince. One day, you are trusted with a secret, a secret that needs your help and will drive you up the wall. Because of numerous things, but the one thing you never expected was to fall for someone who shouldn't deserve love - or should he?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adam/Belle (Disney), Babette/Lumiere (Disney), Gaston/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Ok people, I have posted this once before under another account. I then had to shut that one down and have been back for a while, posting another work. Since we are all in this isolation boat together I thought, why not post this again? I don't think a lot of people will read this but if it helps you spend some minutes without thinking about the state of the world, be my guest (get it? haha). I will have to revise a lot of this, so will post it chapter after chapter once I have done that. Thanks so much for reading! :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As you swung your feet out of bed, your breath immediately formed small, cloud-like shapes in the air and you immediately started longing for your bed again. November had just begun and the temperature in the castle had dropped a good amount of degrees overnight. Your roommate, another maid called Babette had already started to build a fire while shivering violently in her thin nightgown. <br/>"Good morning!” she happily greeted you and you automatically smiled back, nodding towards her, still feeling a bit shy.</p><p>You had only begun work at the castle a few days ago after the charm had been lifted from its inhabitants, which in turn made them look for new maids and staff in general. Your mother and father still lived in the small village you had left behind. He was working as a merchant and constantly away on business, while your mother ran a small bakery with her sister. They were known for making the best cakes in town. </p><p>You, on the other hand, had known from a young age that you didn’t want to follow the bakery route, you wanted to make something of yourself, and since you always had a talent for household chores and organization, you decided to try your luck as a maid. A bonus was that your grandmother had been a well-known healer around the village and a castle always needed someone who could help out when small accidents occurred. That was why you had also brought a big bag, full of dried herbs, pastes, and other things, which was stuffed into a corner of your cupboard since Babette couldn’t stand the smell.</p><p>Your roommate also worked as a maid at the castle, she had been there for the whole thing, transformed into a duster, at least that was what she had told you during your first night in the castle. She seemed trustworthy and as if she didn’t care to keep any secrets from you. That was a good thing but she was also very outspoken and never kept her mouth closed if she wanted to let her opinion be known. That’s why you were a bit unnerved by her glancing in your direction while you hastily braided your (h/c) hair. You loved its length and how it fell to your waist, but tying it up made you curse it sometimes. </p><p>“(Y/N)? Belle wanted to see you this morning. Would you mind taking her breakfast upstairs?” Babette asked, without adding anything else, and you shrugged. You didn’t mind. You actually really liked Belle, she was only a year older than you and had often read to you and others in town. You could read and write too, something your father had taught you from a young age since he wanted you to get by in this world and you were forever grateful.</p><p>Belle also insisted that everyone in the castle called her by her first name, while you all addressed the Prince as ‘your majesty’. To explain her reasoning, Belle simply let everyone know that she didn’t feel as if she deserved the title and kept mentioning that she wasn’t a princess yet. So far, no wedding was planned and it seemed like everyone wanted to enjoy themselves for a bit before getting back to more serious topics again, which would include planning how things would have to continue at the castle.</p><p>“I will go now, shall I wait for you with our breakfast?” you asked and Babette turned to you, her cheeks turning a dark shade of pink. <br/>"No, no. I will see Lumière and I think we will eat together.” <br/>The relationship between them was commonly known and you grinned, "Have fun then!” <br/>With that, you left the room, the skirt of your light blue dress swishing around your legs, and fixed your apron while walking down the stairs.</p><p>When you arrived in the kitchen Mrs. Potts was already waiting with your breakfast, “Ah, (Y/N)! There you are. Sit down and eat, Belle can wait a few more minutes, she won’t mind!” <br/>You followed her orders, sat down, and watched while Mrs. Potts walked around the kitchen. Her son Chip was struggling with the milk, he helped out a lot, if only by distributing the white liquid into smaller containers. You looked down, before you was a bowl of porridge, in which you were able to spot a few berries. </p><p>“Thank you!” you beamed and dug in, watched by Mrs. Potts, who had a proud smile on her face, “Eat up, you will need your strength!”<br/>You swallowed, raising an eyebrow, “Why exactly? Babette kept looking at me weirdly while I got dressed and now you’re making comments like that - what’s about to happen? Is there a ball no one told me about?” </p><p>Mrs. Potts laughed heartily, “No, my dear, no. You will see.” <br/>You weren’t satisfied with that answer but didn’t ask again, there was no way she would tell you what was going on. Chip, in the meantime, had finished his task, and also managed to steal a berry from you, sitting opposite you with a bright smile. <br/>“Don’t think I didn’t see that!” you murmured, but he knew that you could never stay angry with him for too long. He, therefore, stuck out his tongue and ran from the kitchen before anyone could reprimand him. </p><p>The world outside the castle had started to wake up while you had your breakfast, the sun shone through the windows and around you more and lower maids returned to the kitchen, coming back from their cleaning duties. You quickly put your now-empty bowl next to the sink and checked your apron one last time.</p><p>“I shall leave now, where’s Belle’s tray?” <br/>Mrs. Potts motioned to a big tray and you took it, careful to balance everything. In front of you was the same porridge you had just eaten, but Belle enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate with it. This was a decadence you didn’t have too often in your life, chocolate was usually too expensive to have it daily. Apparently not in a castle, but you always remembered how your mum cherished the cocoa in her bakery. </p><p>After nearly colliding with three maids who hastily scurried out of your way, you reached the corridor on which Belle’s room was. She didn’t share one with the Prince, at least not yet, so you did not have to be too careful regarding your manners around here. The soft carpet swallowed the sound of your footsteps as you approached her door and you carefully knocked with your elbow. </p><p>You could hear Belle from the other side and before you were able to do anything, she opened the door for you. This was another thing she did for those around her, to help everyone around her achieve their daily tasks. You smiled, Belle still followed her own rules and you liked that about her.</p><p>Her brown hair was still down, but she was already dressed in a pink robe. <br/>“Good morning! Isn’t it a wonderful day? Look how crips everything looks outside!” <br/>You nodded along to her words and made your way to one of the ridiculously small tables. Belle thanked you and sat down, while you made sure that the fire was still going. </p><p>“(Y/N)?” You turned around at the sound of her voice, “Yes?" <br/>“Do you like it here? So far? I hope you are feeling well?” <br/>You smiled, Belle had always been considerate of others. <br/>“I like it. It’s definitely different, but a good different. And I like working for you, it’s not like I imagined.” <br/>She smiled, “What did you imagine?” </p><p>You felt your cheeks grow hot, “I don’t want to be rude, but after all that happened I was afraid that you might have turned into a snooty Princess.” <br/>Belle laughed heartily, “I wouldn’t dare! And if I should ever act like one, please slap some sense into me. Don’t think that I’ve forgotten my roots, I still remember us reading together by the fountain. Which brings me to something else, please feel free to borrow books from the library anytime you like. I forgot to tell you that on the day you began working here.”</p><p>You were taken by surprise, “Thank you. If the Prince doesn’t mind, of course.” <br/>“He won’t mind,” Belle gave you a wink and you both snickered.<br/>“Ok,” still smiling, you thought about what had happened in the kitchen and decided to ask Belle what as going on, “Did you need me for anything else? Babette and Mrs. Potts seemed to think so.”</p><p>Belle sighed and motioned for you to sit down. Ok, this had to be serious. You followed her lead, taking a seat, and looked at her while she took a sip from her hot chocolate. After tasting it, she slid it over to you, “Drink, you’ll need it.” <br/>“You’re not the first to tell me that,” your fingers closed around the mug as you took a sip. <br/>The rich and creamy flavor surprised you and you had to close your eyes for a short second, before Belle brought you back to reality by clearing her throat.</p><p>“Listen, I heard that you brought your healing things with you. Is that right?” <br/>You looked at her, taken aback by her question, “Yes, I have them, in my room. Are you not feeling well? Do you need anything? Did…something happen?” you asked, concern showing in your voice. </p><p>“Nothing happened with me,” this time, Belle blushed and you couldn’t hide a soft smile. <br/>“Ok, so what’s the problem?” <br/>Belle took a deep breath, “There’s something Adam and I have only told a few people in this castle. Mrs. Potts knows, as do Lumière, Cogsworth, and Babette. I want you to know, too, because we need your help. You’re the only one with healing knowledge around here.” <br/>So they needed your help with something else? You only nodded and Belle seemed to be relieved by you not asking further questions. <br/>“Go get your things, I will show you. Meet me in the north tower.”</p><p>You hurried back to your room, grabbing the enormous bag and practically ran to the north tower, suddenly growing curious. What were they hiding? <br/>Belle was already waiting for you, her hair now in a low ponytail and you panted after running around the whole caste, lugging your bag behind you. She gave you a soft smile and together you walked up the stairs. You suddenly realized that you had never been there, the tower wasn’t used daily, at least that’s what Lumière had told you. </p><p>Belle began talking while climbing the stairs, “The witch helped us initially, but since we could not rely on her help forever, she told us to hire someone with knowledge in healing.” <br/>“The witch?” you interjected and wondered what was going on - did someone have a problem with the transformation and hurt themselves in the process of returning to their true form? </p><p>“Belle, I don’t know anything about magic,” you began and she gave you a look that told you that you would not need to worry about it.<br/>You stopped before a big, wooden door and while you were ready to get on, Belle took a moment to seemingly collect her thoughts. <br/>“Please be quiet. He sleeps very lightly and I think he still has a fever.” </p><p>You raised an eyebrow, ‘he'? Instead of saying anything, you only nodded and she opened the door. The room was dimly lit, the curtains were drawn so that the harsh sunlight didn’t disturb anyone. A light scent lay in the air, you could make out lavender and a bit of vanilla, both of them were calming your nerves. While your eyes adjusted to the darker room, you spotted a fireplace in one corner of the room but soon your eyes wandered to the gigantic bed, which was standing against the longest wall. Belle put a finger to her lips and you followed her quietly. </p><p>Before you approached the bed, you put your bag on a nearby chair, trying to avoid making any noise.<br/>The first thing you recognized beneath several blankets was the form of a human. Definitely male, his built told you as much. You couldn’t see his face and took a few more steps towards the sleeping person. </p><p>Belle kept her eyes trained on you, as if she was waiting for something, a reaction. You carefully observed the man, his face was hidden by long, black hair and you brushed a few strands aside. At that moment, you recognized him. You could almost hear his loud and booming voice, which had followed Belle around town and kept others amused on more than one occasion. </p><p>But it couldn’t be him. He had fallen from a tower, everyone knew that he could not have survived the ordeal. On closer inspection, you realized that he looked different. His face didn’t offer the flawless and clean-cut view you were used to. A fresh and still healing scar traveled from the right side of his forehead, down to the middle of the cheek and the skin around it looked as if it had been cut numerous times. The dim light didn’t make it easier for you to get a better understanding of what had happened though.</p><p>While you were still watching the man, taking in his miraculously still straight nose, the strong jaw, and dark eyebrows, he stirred and rolled onto his back. There was no room for speculations left once you were able to take in his whole face and you couldn’t help but exclaim, “Belle, is that Gaston?! How?!” </p><p>To Belle’s credit, she had tried to quiet you down immediately, but your shrill voice still made the man jolt out of his sleep. Instead of paying attention to Belle, you looked at him and found that his eyes were struggling to focus on you, blankets twisted around his body. You definitely needed an explanation for this.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Finally found some time to continue editing the story, thanks for reading :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gaston's mouth opened a few times, but nothing came out. You were still shocked to see him like this — the once grand and impressive man had been reduced to a smaller form, obviously due to losing weight, and from what you could make out, his flawless face had taken quite a beating. </p><p>“But, how… I thought— We all thought…,” you stopped yourself, the words dying on your tongue when Belle looked at you with a warning look in her eyes.<br/>
“It’s alright, Gaston,” she now turned to the man on the bed, "This is (Y/N), she knows a lot about healing, she will help you. Do you think you can trust her? She’s also from the village, maybe you remember?” </p><p>Gaston looked from Belle to you, an almost frightened look in his blue eyes. You tried your best to look approachable and he slowly nodded. After that he quickly looked back to Belle, probably searching for something normal, whatever normal meant at this moment. You were sure that he hadn't actually recognized you but decided to not ask for confirmation, the situation itself was stressful enough as it was.</p><p>Belle let out a long breath, looking relieved, “That’s great. You can go back to rest now. I will fill (Y/N) in on what happened. Sleep well, Gaston.” </p><p>Once again, Gaston seemed as if he wanted to try to say something, but after struggling for a few seconds he sighed and lay back down, a defeated look on his face. You followed Belle outside, not without casting a last look back at the man in the bed who had already closed his eyes again. It was a miracle to you, everyone thought he had died and although no one was too fond of him, after all, that he had done, the town had grown noticeably quieter. </p><p>Gaston had always been someone everyone knew and noticed, branded as a booming and sensational man, but people tended to forget that he had also meant more than that to a few among them. LeFou, for example, had lost his former… friend? Boss? You didn’t know how to label their relationship, but you knew that the loss had left a hole in his heart.</p><p>After mulling over how to approach the topic, one question finally bubbled over, "What the hell, Belle?!”<br/>
You couldn’t help but forget your place as you reached the end of the stairs. Belle ushered you into a nearby room, the music room, and closed the door behind you.<br/>
“I know, it’s a lot to just dump onto you, but please listen.” </p><p>You shook your head, more in disbelief than in not wanting to help, and took a seat on one of the many piano benches. In contrast to that, Belle paced the room, seemingly trying to get the story in order while mumbling to herself.</p><p>She finally sat down and cleared her throat, “When Gaston fell, he didn’t die. He was hurt, badly. After everything happened, you know, once the curse was lifted, Adam and I went around the castle, to see what had changed in every last corner. That was when we found him. He hadn’t fallen all the way, his fall was stopped by another balcony, and Adam and I just knew that we had to help.” </p><p>You had to interrupt, “After he wanted to kill A-, the Prince?!”<br/>
You quickly corrected yourself, “Belle, he declared your father mad and wanted to get rid of him, why did you help? I don’t want to say that he deserved to die but you gave him a bed and…”</p><p>Belle silenced you with a sad look in her eyes, “I couldn’t let him die. He was wrong, very wrong. And he did my father and Adam great harm. But he’s still a human being, (Y/N). I don’t know why he acts or acted, the way he did. He always wanted to impress me. He never really thought about anything and never had to question himself. He annoyed me to no end, but I never hated Gaston. And when we found him, I realized that Adam could forgive him too. It’s hard, he has only seen him twice, but I think we can make this work. If… you would be willing to look after him. Please, (Y/N), if I can somehow forgive him, you can too.”</p><p>You huffed but nodded. You still felt wary, but you also knew that you couldn’t simply watch a man suffer. Gaston surely had been punished enough, at least by the looks of it. So you decided to let the topic rest, for now.<br/>
“What happened? I mean, what are his injuries.” </p><p>Belle furrowed her brows as she began recalling everything, “As I said. The witch helped. A bit. He has multiple cuts all over his body, I presume, they would not let me see him undressed, which I don’t understand-“</p><p>You held up a hand to stop her rambling and after a small smile, Belle went back to the telling you about Gaston’s situation, “Sorry. He broke both of his legs, they are healing, but he will have difficulties walking. There’s a nasty cut on his face. He also broke several ribs and his left wrist. Apart from that, he hit his head and often suffers from headaches. That should pass in a few days. He hasn’t spoken a word. I think he is trying, but nothing comes out.” </p><p>“Might be the shock,” you mumbled and Belle looked at you.<br/>
“So you’ll help him?”<br/>
You sighed, how could you not?<br/>
“I will help him. I’ll try my best. The broken bones have been immobilized I hope?” </p><p>She nodded and you were relieved, one less thing you had to worry about.<br/>
“You will, of course, be freed from your other duties during the time. And please don’t talk to anyone. Only to those who know.”<br/>
“Understood. How long am I supposed to care for him?” </p><p>Belle shrugged and you were suddenly able to see how much the whole thing stressed her out.<br/>
“I don’t know. Until he’s back to his old ways.”<br/>
You assumed that he would never go back to his old self, but kept quiet for now. No need to worry her even more.</p><p>“Alright. He needs something to eat, I’ll go down to see what Mrs. Potts can come up with.”<br/>
You stood up and Belle followed suit. You both made your way to the door before you turned left and she right.<br/>
“(Y/N) - one last thing. Thank you. Really, I mean it. And Gaston will be thankful too, please be kind to him.”<br/>
You turned to Belle, putting on a more professional tone, "I’ll see you later, we can talk about what I think about his state.”<br/>
With that you made your way to the stairs, still not sure how to handle the situation.</p><p>When you heard Belle leave through another door, you stopped walking. You couldn’t believe it. Gaston was alive. You had never spent a great deal of time with him, probably due to being too plain for him to notice you, but he was only a few years older and had played with you and your siblings during your childhood. The air around you grew cold, this part of the castle wasn’t heated by any fires and you started walking again. You didn’t know how Belle could forgive Gaston for what he had done to her, her father and the Prince, but if she was willing to help him, so could you.</p><p>When you entered the kitchen, Mrs. Potts. looked up from her cookbook, “Belle told you?“<br/>
You nodded and took a seat, still overwhelmed with what had happened.<br/>
“It’s horrible,” you muttered and she put a mug of hot milk in front of you, the comforting scent immediately calmed you down.<br/>
“Drink, I will prepare his meal.” </p><p>You took hold of the mug and warmed your fingers, “You should have seen him. He looks nothing like before. I mean, I could still recognize him, but he has changed.”<br/>
“Almost falling to your death will do that to you, my child,” Mrs. Potts remarked and you winced. </p><p>You could not imagine how long he must have spent on that balcony, in pain, close to dying, in the cold. Mrs. Potts sat down in front of you, “If you need to talk about anything, I am here. I can help you with food and if you need to clean anything. I think I felt the same emotions when I heard about it. But he deserves a second chance, don’t you think?” </p><p>You nodded, slowly and realized that she was right, “I guess so. What are you preparing?”<br/>
Getting back to thinking about how to help him made you feel more relaxed and Mrs. Potts turned back to the stove, "Soup. He can barely hold anything in and Belle got him to at least drink it. I think we can start with other things soon, but better be safe than sorry.” </p><p>“Sounds about right,” you muttered and made a mental note to make sure that he got enough food and water. The cook filled a bowl with the hot liquid. You finished your milk, which allowed the soup to cool a bit and took it from her.<br/>
“Good luck my dear. And let me know if he manages to eat the soup,” Mrs. Potts called after you, a motherly tone perceptible in her voice.<br/>
“I will, thank you!”</p><p>On your way back to Gaston you crossed paths with Cogsworth, who threw a knowing look in your direction which you acknowledged with a nod. After that you hurried to the tower, trying not to spill any of the soup, the way memorized in your thoughts. You also mused about how to approach the situation at hand, but knew that the next few days, weeks, or even months would nevertheless hold a lot of pain, but hopefully also some successes. </p><p>You opened the door with your elbow and entered the room once again. There was a reason why they kept Gaston in this room you suddenly realized, the tower was barely used and no one would find him here, especially since the other servants were busy cleaning the more important rooms of the castle after they had been left to rot for the past few years.</p><p>This time, Gaston was awake, his eyes focused on you while you put the soup on a table. You realized that it was actually quite dark in the room, you could hardly see anything and fresh air was something you, and your patient needed. So you walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains, to let the dim sunlight fill the room. It was a very nice room, one that would be given to guests that were visiting the family. The decor was held in a dark red color, which oddly matched the clothes that Gaston usually wore. You turned back to him, he  was still eyeing you.</p><p>“As Belle said, I am (Y/N). I don’t know if you remember me, I also grew up in the village?”<br/>
He shrugged and you decided that it was best to keep the introduction short and try to convince him to eat a bit. The bowl of soup had cooled down a great deal and you offered it to him.<br/>
“Do you think you can drink a bit?” </p><p>He slowly nodded, his eyes never leaving your face.<br/>
“I shall help you.”<br/>
He was already in an elevated position, cushions propped up behind his back, and you slowly put the bowl to his lips. Gaston only managed small sips, but after he had at least eaten a bit, you put the bowl down. </p><p>“I have to look at your injuries, is that ok?”<br/>
His eyes widened and he started to shake his head when you took hold of his arm, “Let’s start with this one then.”<br/>
No was not an answer you would accept in this case, someone had to make sure that everything was healing nicely. You carefully touched the bandage on his left wrist, where he had broken his bones and he, surprisingly, didn’t pull his arm away. </p><p>“You know, we played together as children. You, my two brothers and me,” you rarely talked about your brothers, they had both died when they were around 11 after falling sick. Not even your grandmother was able to help them. You looked back to Gaston, he seemed to remember now, at least you thought so.<br/>
“Can you talk?” you asked and he shook his head.</p><p>“But you try to?” you inquired further and earned a nod.<br/>
“Might be the shock. So we’ll stick to nodding. And writing if I need more information. Let’s look at your legs.”<br/>
Before he could do anything, you threw back the covers and were presented with his bare legs. Any other woman would have been embarrassed by undressing a man she barely knew, but although you were shy, you took helping others much too seriously to be fazed by anything like that. </p><p>The bones had been set by someone with skill and two splints were positioned at each side of the legs, held together by tightly wrapped bandages. Apart from the broken bones, the skin was decorated with many bruises, but nothing life-threatening.<br/>
“That looks good. They should be completely healed soon, but you have to lie still. I know that it will be hard, but we can make it work.”</p><p>You put the covers back and moved up to his chest. Whoever had treated him had rid Gaston of his usual red leather coat and everything he used to wear. He now wore a plain white shirt and trousers that were cut off on his thighs, so that you could treat his legs. It seemed like he had given up fighting against you undressing him, instead Gaston lay back down and closed his eyes. You carefully pushed up the shirt, his ribcage was bandaged, but apart from that, only a few scratches could be seen. His leather attire must have saved him from more. </p><p>The last thing on your checklist was his face. You were finally able to look at the deep slash on it, something that would never fully heal, but you knew how to treat it so that minimal scarring would occur. The biggest surprise was that someone had stitched up the wound, something your grandmother had always done and what many people continued to eye suspiciously. You quickly looked over other cuts, but they were not something you had to treat in any special way and would heal on their own. </p><p>You also felt Gaston's head, a few bumps could be made out, but that was it. It was unusual for you to see him with his hair unbound, the black strands falling into his face, but it really wasn’t a bad look. Apart from all the injuries of course.</p><p>“Ok, that looks great. Given the circumstances. Are you still hungry?”<br/>
He opened his eyes again and slowly shook his head. You had expected it and turned around to the fireplace to keep the fire burning. After adding a few more logs to it you walked over to your bag. You would definitely have to get a few more things from the village, but had almost everything that you would need for now. </p><p>After rummaging around you found the tub you were searching for, a mixture of different herbs that would help him with the pain that arose from the injuries. You also had a small bottle with laudanum, which would help him sleep.</p><p>“I have to pester you one last time, after that, you can go back to sleep,” you explained and worked quickly. After about 5 minutes all visible wounds were treated with the thick salve and you tucked him back in.<br/>
“Do you feel any pain? I am not talking about dull pain, more like a sharp one.”<br/>
Gaston shook his head and you could see that every movement now strained him, in these past minutes you really began to question how much he accepted his current predicament. It must have been hard for him to wake up, in pain, immobilized, and not able to say anything. </p><p>Before you continued staring at him, you opened the laudanum bottle and held it into his field of vision, “If you want to sleep without being woken up by pain, I can give you this?”<br/>
Gaston turned his head and looked at you. You couldn’t really read his face, you had never seen so many emotions on it and tried to make out what he wanted from you. </p><p>“What do you want to know? More about me? (he shook his head) When you’ll be fully healed? (again, he shook his head) Why I am here?” after that question he nodded briefly. </p><p>You took a deep breath, the bottle still in your hand, “To be honest… Belle asked me to care for you. I thought you were dead, we all thought so. I always wanted to help and she thought that I would be perfect for you, or rather this. I was hesitant, especially since I only know you from before. Always talking about yourself, hunting women, and the whole business with Belle’s father and the hunt on the Prince…”</p><p>He looked hurt, genuinely hurt, and you quickly realized that you had probably overstepped a line, “But I guess everyone deserves a second chance and if Belle decided to give you one, we all can follow her example. Now, do you want this?”<br/>
You once again held up the bottle. You could hear him sigh and he nodded.<br/>
“We will have to do something about your voice. I’ll bring ink and paper next time, so you can write out some things for me. And I can also read to you if you want to?“ while talking, you poured some of the laudanum on a spoon and gave it to Gaston. </p><p>He swallowed and kept staring at you, his eyelids growing heavy. You never got any kind of answer regarding the books, but decided to nevertheless bring them with you next time.<br/>
After watching him sleep for about half an hour you felt how tired you were and how much this day had worn you out. Gaston would be sleeping for at least five hours, so you quietly left the room and made your way back to the kitchen. </p><p>Mrs. Potts welcomed you with a supporting smile, “How is our patient doing?”<br/>
You sat down and began drawing invisible circles on the table, "As good as can be expected under the circumstances, I guess. I have to go back to the village tomorrow, or the day after, I need more supplies. And I would like to boil out the bandages tomorrow if that’s ok with you.”<br/>
“Of course. Did he eat anything?”<br/>
You sighed, "Just a bit. He’s sleeping now.”</p><p>The cook placed a ball of dough on the table and started to violently knead it. She gave you a small piece on which you could nibble and both of you didn’t talk for a while. The silence gave you enough room to just let your thoughts flow, relaxing you in the process.<br/>
Mrs. Potts finally broke the silence, “What are your thoughts on him?” </p><p>You quickly summed up what you had told Gaston and she nodded along to your words, “I can understand you. We all had to come to terms with the fact that the Prince and Belle decided to take him in. I do hope that he will change. He could be a really nice man.” </p><p>“He will be changed. He won’t be able to rely on his good looks anymore, the wound on his face is already beginning to scar and I think he will limp after his legs have healed.” </p><p>You both fell silent, thinking about what you had just said. Gaston would undoubtedly still be handsome, but not being the best looking man in the village would make a difference to him and how people perceive the man. You spent some time looking out the window while Mrs. Potts finished the loaf of bread. </p><p>After putting it into the oven she turned to you, “Get some sleep. You look like you need it."<br/>
She had felt like a second mother from the day you started at the castle and you were glad to have her to confide in.<br/>
“Thank you for the talk. Could you make sure that someone wakes me before dinner? I want to check on Gaston again and maybe spend a few hours with him, I thought about reading to him.” Mrs. Potts smiled, “You are a good girl (Y/N), and yes, I will wake you but you will have to leave now, no one needs you to fall asleep on your feet!”</p>
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